Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[kzas]

Thanks for all the help! I'll make it a little shorter so they can be closer to the heat & I LOVE the bungee idea! I had posted earlier looking for good ways to connect it so the wire wasn't exposed. Thank you so much!

 

[lazy gardener]

I suggest you bungie the heating pad, as you can see here, I used the tiny bungies, to the inside surface of your wire frame. It's a lot more comfortable, and safer, too, for your chicks. During the first week, I smoosh the frame down so the highest point is no more than four inches high. The chicks crave direct contact with the pad and will even sleep standing up to achieve it. (That flannel plaid material is a cover I sewed to slip over my heating pad.)

What Blooie says is a very good point to remember. Chicks are stimulated to activity by any light. When they come out of their cave when the light isn't bright enough to see well, they may not be able to find their way back under the heating pad, instead congregating in a corner, piled up to stay warm, and that risks a chick being smothered. You want them spread out under the heat source, not piled up.

On the other hand, if the chicks appear to be avoiding the heat source, you need to reduce the heat until they are using it again.

That little flannel cover looks cozy enough that I'd like to crawl under for a nap. I agree, it may have been too warm under the pad, so the chicks exited, but it was too cold to not have the pad heat. Lowering the thermostat just a bit may be the perfect solution.

Thanks for all the help! I'll make it a little shorter so they can be closer to the heat & I LOVE the bungee idea! I had posted earlier looking for good ways to connect it so the wire wasn't exposed. Thank you so much!

I wrapped my pad and wire frame with cloth and used painters tape to secure it. Too lazy to break out the sewing machine for that task, but love Azygous cover.

 

[Blooie]

I apologize, kzas. If I saw that question I must have space it. Beekissed does her MHP with the pad on the inside too.

I love that cover too, so me too, LG! I may just have to copy that along with the portals in the outside brooder pen. This thread continues to amaze me!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I'm glad I found this post (been meaning to read it since it was recommended but forgot) and I've been trying to read through it but there's so many pages I haven't gotten very far lol soooo.... This is probably a stupid question but how do you make the wire frame slope higher in front and lower in back? Do you cut the wire different lengths or prop the front up on something or something?? I'm sure it is probably very simple and I will feel stupid but I simply can't really picture how to do it/what you mean. I mean, I know what sloping means and how it should look but can't picture how to do or for some reason.

Also, in the pictures in the beginning it looks like you wrapped the towel in the sheets? Unless that's just a fancy towel?

Also, I wanted them in the house but my family is insisting garage. Do you think they'll be okay? I was thinking either the main floor or the second level. The concrete may be cold hence the second level but the second level temperature fluctuates, it gets veryyyy hot in summer and veryyyy cold winter. I still have no clue what to use for the brooder either. We bought pine shavings today for the floor but I don't know how to contain them. Thinking a large kiddy pool or two with some sort of walls around the sides to contain them and protect from drafts. Or just some sort of fencing without the kiddy pool and linoleum on the floor or something.

My dad seems to think that chickens smell awful and he doesn't want the barn (top of garage) smelling like a coop, etc. And.wanted them on the lower level because the concrete is easy to clean. But he said in a kiddy pool upstairs would be okay. He seems to think that we would just put the chicks directly on the garage floor lol

 

[Blooie]

In the photos at the beginning of the thread, that's just a plain old bath towel with a layer of Glad Press'n Seal over it. It was far from fancy - it was in the "sacrifice" bin because when I held it up to the light I could see through it! As for shaping the frame, I just pushed down on one end of it, which flattened it just in that area perfectly. As the chicks grew, all I had to do pull it up back into shape. Nothing fancy or difficult there.

I can't advise you on where to keep your chicks. That depends on you, your dad's wishes, and what spaces you have that are the most practical. I will tell you that I brood mine outdoors, even when it's cold outside. I have a pen set up in the run out there. When I very first put them out, our daytime highs were in the upper thirties and a few forties, but that didn't last long. It was just a few days later that we dropped to the teens and twenties, with high winds and some snowstorms, and that's how it stayed! They were perfectly fine. Our run is covered in plastic, so that helped, but temps weren't a lot warmer in there than outside - the run was just drier and there was no wind blowing right on them. You can read all about how brooding outdoors by clicking on the "Yes, You Certainly Can Brood Chicks Outdoors" link below in my signature.

Think carefully about your choice of a brooder. A wading pool would probably work but make sure it has high sides and you can cover it securely. Ventilation (without direct drafts) is also important, even for chicks, so something like hardware cloth would be best. Be advised that MHP takes up around 2 square feet of your brooder floor, and the feeder and waterer will take up more. Chicks grow fast and they need space. Check appliance stores for larger cardboard boxes. And this time of year stores are getting huge, usually rounded boxes for squash and pumpkins so you might score there. I don't advise brooding on concrete. You can't put enough shavings down to insulate the chicks against that cold surface and even if you could, it will take them no time at all to scratch it all away anyway. If you use a box or kiddie pool for them and you have to use the lower level with the concrete, put down some thick cardboard, or hard foam or something to keep the cold from coming through on the floor of the brooder. The entire premise for a heating pad cave is that it heats only the chicks, not their entire environment like a heat lamp would.

I think I got it all covered, didn't I? Nope, forgot to remind you to protect them from predators. That means dogs and cats, too. Whew! Okay, taking a breather now. Good luck and don't forget that we want pictures!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Wow, that's a lot simpler than I would have guessed!! Thanks for the tips. my mush brain (mush not pea because I used to be smart, too much TV lol) is making it more complicated than necessary xD

But yeah, I am thinking they will go at the top of the barn. just need to clear a space as we store stuff up there and right now it's very full.

But yeah, I was concerned about the amount of space with the kiddy pool, hence why I considered connecting two but perhaps it would be best to just make walls. Now, you mentioned hardware cloth but would that be a good enough stand alone brooder without the pool? Worried about the drafts you mentioned. Could I use the hardware cloth as the main frame and then put some cardboard or something around the bottom half so that they could have draft protection but still ventilation?

I didn't even think about the cold coming through the floor but it makes sense.

As for the dog and cat, I'm hoping that by being outside they will be safer so this may be good. The kitty is now indoor only so that's no issue and the dog very very rarely goes out there but when they are a bit older but still young enough I may take him up there, on leash of course, a couple times so he can see them because I do want him to get used to them and learn that they are not a big deal before the get too loud and flappy haha I am also going to start exercising him regularly and trick training/mental stimulation because lack of the above is the root of all of our problems because he is otherwise a very good and laidback (lazy)dog but when he's bored aka all the time now he chases the cat all about the house.

I think our main issue is rodents. We have a mouse problem in the barn.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh and of course there will be pictures!! They hatch the 26th of this month so so very soon already!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Do you have a coop outside? If you brood them outside, they must be in a secure predator proof enclosure. same in your garage. Any possibility of mice or rats getting near them? I have brooded on the garage floor. What I did was put down a layer of plastic, followed by some old blankets, followed by some more plastic, a layer of cardboard, and then my brooder enclosure and the shavings. Where ever you brood them, the entire area will soon be covered by a fine layer of oily silt. It's chicken dander. Highly allergenic, and a great reason to move your brooding directly to the coop. It will invade every surface in the area they are being brooded in.

 

[gjamesi]

Ooops, I took the pictures and forgot to post them.

I liked the press and seal.

Keeping cleaning easier, I like that.

Standard "1 stucco wire, duct tape the sharps.

Duct tape it all together.

I actually have 1 end about "2 and the other about "5 with a soup
can in the middle. I ended up reversing the bent ends after seeing
someone else's post about touching the wires.

and this how they moved themselves in.

Sorry for the memory blip.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Do you have a coop outside?  If you brood them outside, they must be in a secure predator proof enclosure.  same in your garage.  Any possibility of mice or rats getting near them?  I have brooded on the garage floor.  What I did was put down a layer of plastic, followed by some old blankets, followed by some more plastic, a layer of cardboard, and then my brooder enclosure and the shavings.  Where ever you brood them, the entire area will soon be covered by a fine layer of oily silt.  It's chicken dander.  Highly allergenic, and a great reason to move your brooding directly to the coop.  It will invade every surface in the area they are being brooded in.

No coop outside yet as these are our first chickens so it's not built yet. We do have a dog house outside though but we kinda just have stuff thrown in it so it would require emptying and I know for sure stuff lives under it and possibly in. Plus it's not very big inside. I never really thought of the predator thing in the garage but that's a good point. What sorts of things do you think would try to get in? But yes, the mice (at least I think that's what it is) would access them potentially unless I made their brooder mouse proof. I don't know for sure that we have a rodent problem or just rodents living out there (I don't know when or how to tell the difference and I personally have never seen a mouse) but one time my mom put the dog's food out there and I found out and got it and one of the bags (this was over the summer, I had ordered a couple different brands in smaller sizes to try) had a hole in the bottom corner that wasn't there. Fortunately this was a rather junk bag I had gotten from a local store before I ordered and the one large bag I ordered was untouched. But it was still a little frustrating. They also used to hide dog kibble (back when our old dog ate in the garage) in our ski boots. So they are definitely out there. We could potentially get a barn cat but I would worry for the chicks plus like I mentioned we have a lot of stuff so it's somewhat unsafe for a cat to run freely I would think.

That's a really fantastic idea thougg with the plastic and blankets and everything, thank you!! Any particular kind of plastic? Like a tarp or something or more tight fitting?

But wow, in that case I am glad they'll be in the garage since i technically have asthma even though it's mild and I only really get it when I get sick.

Although I will probably need to move some stuf then as I don't think I want dander on.some stuff but most of it is fine.